The statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall overlooks the New York Stock Exchange, right, during a winter storm, Tuesda. Global stocks drifted lower on Tuesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting for an expected interest rate increase and hints on future hikes.

NEW YORK — Stocks around the world pulled back Tuesday as investors wait to hear from the Federal Reserve, which is beginning a two-day policy meeting on interest rates. Energy stocks had some of the biggest declines, hurt by a continued drop in the price of oil.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,364 as of 9:53 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41 points, or 0.2 percent, to 20,840. The Nasdaq composite fell 27 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,849.
Nine stocks fell on the New York Stock Exchange for every two that rose.

ENERGY SLUMP: Energy stocks in the S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent, by far the largest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the index. Marathon Oil fell 90 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $14.94 for the largest loss in the S&P 500. Devon Energy fell $1.69, or 4.1 percent, to $39.28, and National Oilwell Varco dropped $1.37 or 3.6 percent, to $36.73.

The price of crude oil has been slumping since late last month, when it was at nearly $55 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude oil was trading at $47.62 a barrel Tuesday, down 78 cents, or 1.6 percent. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, dropped 78 cents to $50.56 a barrel in London.

ACKMAN OUT: Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell $1.22, or 10.1 percent, to $10.89 after one of its biggest investors sold its entire stake in the company. Valeant’s stock has tumbled nearly 96 percent since its peak in the summer of 2015 because the company is facing more scrutiny for raising prices on its drugs. Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square said Monday it has sold its investment in the company.

HEALTH IMPACT: Health care stocks held relatively steady overall amid increased expectations that the Republican proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act is unlikely to pass in its current form. The sector was down 0.1 percent in early trading.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said late Monday that the Republican proposal would result in 24 million more uninsured people over a decade, while trimming the federal deficit by $337 billion.

CURRENCIES: The pound fell against the dollar after Parliament gave its prime minister the authority to divorce Britain from the European Union. Scotland’s first minister, meanwhile, called for a referendum to break free of the United Kingdom.

The pound fell to $1.2146 from $1.2231 late Monday. The euro fell to $1.0639 from $1.0660, and the dollar dipped to 114.72 Japanese yen from 114.77 yen.

YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.60 from 2.63 percent late Monday. The two-year yield dipped to 1.36 percent from 1.38 percent, and the 30-year yield sank to 3.18 percent from 3.21 percent.

COMMODITIES: Gold fell $1 to $1,202.10 per ounce, silver slipped a penny to $16.96 per ounce and copper dropped a penny to $2.61 per pound.

A survey released Friday by executive compensation expert Equliar, combined with a review of government filings, showed that five of the 10 most highly-paid chief executives in the nation were employed by Bay Area tech companies.

Her successor is likely to be someone who is at least willing to play with the idea of a departure from the E.U. without a safety net. May considered plunging ahead but ultimately decided it was too risky.